Even online advertising isn't immune to the slowing U.S. economy, as marketers have less to spend on advertising, and are making cuts that hurt both new and traditional media, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

However, even though marketers are cutting back, it does not mean the online segment won't grow, David Hallerman, eMarketer analyst, told the LA Times. eMarketer predicts Internet advertising will reach US$25.9 billion by the end of 2008, compared to $21.1 billion last year.

By 2009, eMarketer expects online advertising to reach $30 billion. It's “not going to grow as much as expected, but it's still going to be growing more than other media,” said Hallerman, according to the LA Times.

Banner ads and display ads are most likely to be hurt worse in the online segment, but search engine advertising is expected to stay strong. As the Internet becomes increasingly commonplace, users have become used to display and banner ads, and are now less likely to click on them as they did in the Internet's early years, Ken Deutsch, media director at Long Beach ad agency Grupo Gallegos, told the LA Times.